Airworthiness Directives; Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., (Mooney) Models M20M and M20R Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 42 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9660-9662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3575]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2006-26071; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-51-AD; 
Amendment 39-14965; AD 2007-05-04]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., (Mooney) 
Models M20M and M20R Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The FAA adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 
Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., Models M20M and M20R airplanes. This AD 
requires you to remove the upper left and upper right engine mount 
attaching hardware, cut out and remove the upholstery and insulation 
between the fuselage tubular frame and the firewall, and replace the 
upper left and upper right engine mount attaching hardware with the new 
parts kit. This AD results from failure of the engine mount attaching 
hardware to maintain torque as a result of firewall insulation and 
upholstery being compressed between the fuselage tubular frame and the 
firewall at the upper left and upper right engine mount attach points. 
We are issuing this AD to prevent the upper right and upper left engine 
mounting hardware from losing torque, which could result in a reduction 
in engine mount load carrying capability and could lead to engine mount 
failure.

DATES: This AD becomes effective on April 9, 2007.
    As of April 9, 2007, the Director of the Federal Register approved 
the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the 
regulation.

ADDRESSES: To get the service information identified in this AD, 
contact Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., 165 Al Mooney Road North, 
Kerrville, Texas 78028; telephone: (830) 896-6000, or go to: http://www.mooney.com/images/pdfs/sb-pdf/m20-292a.pdf.
    To view the AD docket, go to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 
Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-0001 or on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is FAA-2006-26071; Directorate 
Identifier 2006-CE-51-AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew McAnaul, Aerospace Engineer, 
ASW-150 (c/o MIDO-43), 10100 Reunion Place, Suite 650, San Antonio, 
Texas 78216; telephone: (210) 308-3365; fax: (210) 308-3370.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

    On November 7, 2006, we issued a proposal to amend part 39 of the 
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to include an AD that 
would apply to certain Mooney Airplane Company, Inc. Models M20M and 
M20R airplanes. This proposal was published in the Federal Register as 
a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on November 7, 2006 (71 FR 
65062). The NPRM proposed to retorque the upper left and upper right 
engine mounting hardware as an interim action. The NPRM also proposed 
to remove the upper left and upper right engine mount attaching 
hardware, cut out and remove the upholstery and insulation between the 
fuselage tubular frame and the firewall, and replace the upper left and 
upper right engine mount attaching hardware with the new parts kit.

Comments

    We provided the public the opportunity to participate in developing 
this AD. The following presents the comments received on the proposal 
and FAA's response to each comment:
    Comment Issue: Jack Buster of the Modification and Replacement 
Parts Association (MARPA) suggests that paragraph (g) of the proposed 
action be amended to include the Internet Uniform Resource Locator 
(URL) address for the relevant service information.
    We agree with the commenter's (Jack Buster, MARPA) recommendation. 
We added the manufacturer's Internet URL address in the information on 
how to obtain the relevant service information.

Conclusion

    Since the NPRM was published, the manufacturer has revised the 
applicable service bulletin to clarify the fastener torque requirement. 
The change does not change the intent of the required action and does 
not create any additional burden on the owners/operators. The AD will 
reference the appropriate service information: Mooney Airplane Company, 
Inc. Service

[[Page 9661]]

Bulletin M20-292A, dated December 22, 2006, but will give credit to 
anyone who has already done the action per the original service 
bulletin.
    We have carefully reviewed the available data and determined that 
air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed 
except for minor editorial corrections. We have determined that these 
minor corrections:
    <bullet> Are consistent with the intent that was proposed in the 
NPRM for correcting the unsafe condition; and
    <bullet> Do not add any additional burden upon the public than was 
already proposed in the NPRM.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this AD affects 198 airplanes in the U.S. 
registry.
    We estimate the following costs to accomplish the required 
modifications:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Total cost per   Total cost on
                  Labor cost                               Parts cost                airplane     U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retorquing of the upper left and upper right    Not Applicable..................             $40          $7,920
 engine mounting hardware: .5 work-hours x $80
 per hour = $40.
Removing insulation and upholstery material at  $20.............................             180          35,640
 the engine mount upper right and upper left
 attaching points, and installing engine mount
 attaching hardware with the new parts kit: 2
 work-hours X $80 per hour = $160.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authority for This Rulemaking

    Title 49 of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to 
issue rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the 
authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 
describes in more detail the scope of the agency's authority.
    We are issuing this rulemaking under the authority described in 
Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart III, Section 44701, ``General 
requirements.'' Under that section, Congress charges the FAA with 
promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing 
regulations for practices, methods, and procedures the Administrator 
finds necessary for safety in air commerce. This regulation is within 
the scope of that authority because it addresses an unsafe condition 
that is likely to exist or develop on products identified in this AD.

Regulatory Findings

    We have determined that this AD will not have federalism 
implications under Executive Order 13132. This AD will not have a 
substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
    For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this AD:
    1. Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 
12866;
    2. Is not a ``significant rule'' under the DOT Regulatory Policies 
and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and
    3. Will not have a significant economic impact, positive or 
negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    We prepared a summary of the costs to comply with this AD (and 
other information as included in the Regulatory Evaluation) and placed 
it in the AD Docket. You may get a copy of this summary by sending a 
request to us at the address listed under ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket 
No. FAA-2006-26071; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-51-AD'' in your 
request.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by 
reference, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

0
Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, 
the Federal Aviation Administration amends part 39 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.


Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

0
2. FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding a new AD to read as follows:

2007-05-04 Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., (Mooney) Models M20M and 
M20R Airplanes: Amendment 39-14965; Docket No. FAA-2006-26071; 
Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-51-AD.

Effective Date

    (a) This AD becomes effective on April 9, 2007.

Affected ADs

    (b) None.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., (Mooney) 
Model M20M airplanes, serial numbers 27-0317 through 27-0355 and 
Model M20R airplanes, serial numbers 29-0290 through 29-0448, that 
are certificated in any category.

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD is the result of failure of the engine mount 
attaching hardware to maintain torque as a result of firewall 
insulation and upholstery being compressed between the fuselage 
tubular frame and the firewall at the upper left and upper right 
engine mount attach points. The actions specified in this AD are 
intended to prevent the upper right and upper left engine mounting 
hardware from losing torque. This failure could lead to a reduction 
in engine mount load carrying capability and could result in engine 
mount failure.

Compliance

    (e) To address this problem, you must do the following, unless 
already done:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Actions                 Compliance            Procedures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Locate and retorque the   Within the next 25    Follow Mooney
 upper left and upper right    hours time-in-        Airplane Company,
 engine mount attaching        service (TIS) after   Inc. Service
 hardware.                     April 9, 2007 (the    Bulletin M20-292A,
                               effective date of     dated December 22,
                               this AD).             2006.

[[Page 9662]]

 
(2) Replace the old engine    Within the next 100   Follow Mooney
 mount attaching hardware by   hours time-in-        Airplane Company,
 doing the following:.         service (TIS) after   Inc. Service
(i) Remove and discard the     April 9, 2007 (the    Bulletin M20-292A,
 upper left and upper right    effective date of     dated December 22,
 engine mount attaching        this AD).             2006.
 hardware;.
(ii) Cut out and remove the
 upholstery and insulation
 material to allow full
 metal-to-metal contact of
 the fuselage tubular frame
 to the firewall; and.
(iii) Install the new upper
 left and upper right engine
 mount attaching hardware
 part kits.
(3) If you do the actions of  As of April 9, 2007   Follow Mooney
 paragraph (e)(2) of this AD   (the effective date   Airplane Company,
 before the compliance time    of this AD).          Inc. Service
 specified for the action in                         Bulletin M20-292A,
 paragraph (e)(1) of this                            dated December 22,
 AD, it terminates the                               2006.
 requirement for the action
 in paragraph (e)(1) of this
 AD.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (f) Compliance will be acceptable if the above actions are 
accomplished by following the procedures described in Mooney 
Airplane Company, Inc. Service Bulletin M20-292, dated September 22, 
2006. You may take ``unless already done'' credit, and no further 
action per this AD is necessary.

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (g) The Manager, Fort Worth Airplane Certification Office, FAA, 
ATTN: Andrew McAnaul, Aerospace Engineer, ASW-150 (c/o MIDO-43), 
10100 Reunion Place, Suite 650, San Antonio, Texas 78216; telephone: 
(210) 308-3365; fax: (210) 308-3370, has the authority to approve 
AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
39.19.

Related Information

    (h) None.

Material Incorporated by Reference

    (i) You must use Mooney Airplane Company, Inc. Service Bulletin 
M20-292A, dated December 22, 2006, to do the actions required by 
this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise.
    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference of this service information under 5 
U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) For service information identified in this AD, contact the 
Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., 165 Al Mooney Road North, Kerrville, 
TX 78028, telephone: 830-896-6000, or go to: http://www.mooney.com/images/pdfs/sb-pdf/m20-292a.pdf.
    (3) You may review copies at the FAA, Central Region, Office of 
the Regional Counsel, 901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; or at 
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For 
information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-
741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 21, 2007.
Kim Smith,
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. E7-3575 Filed 3-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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